How I got Into Divination & Tarot
Last Updated: July 27, 2022
I’ve always been fascinated by divination. Not in a Harry Potter, Zoltar machine-at-the-pier type way; I loved the idea that there is a way to predict “the future” by analysing the data and using that to predict behaviours. I love the idea of using imagery to connect with the universe to physically and tangibly see something bigger than what is going on in the day to day. A little less Luna Lovegood, a little more FBI Forensics & Psychology. I loved learning about it and exploring it throughout my teenage years to my now mid-thirties.
I hated tarot, at first. I dabbled in “angel cards” and I’ve really enjoyed oracle decks, but I hated tarot. I found the structure confusing, I found I wasn’t connecting to the artwork and I found that I just didn’t understand the years of hype surrounding it. The garish yellow of an old-school Rider Waite Smith deck just didn’t do it for me. So I left the tarot alone, and my love for different divination methods remained (albeit life moved on for me).
Tarot has been considered a tool for self-discovery since it gained momentum back in the 1700s. It’s no surprise then, that witchcraft & spirituality is snowballing again during this current age. To me, divination is more than just messages from the divine or from your own subconscious; used carefully it can be a form of self-care and support.
For years I had been struggling with my own personal feelings of anxiety and at times depression, and using tarot in this way was a form of helping myself process these issues. It was especially helpful as a tool when I was on bed rest during my first high-risk pregnancy when my anxieties were peaking and I needed structure to come down.
I shared with my therapist that I used tarot as a tool, and she confirmed it’s more common than people typically think. The way I got around my distaste for tarot, was by another divination method; numerology. Numerology is the divination method of analysing numbers.
I looked at a card, read the interpretation of a card, and then I used its number to find out more about what it meant specifically to me by looking up the universal meaning in numerology. An example of this is how two’s are for balance, for merging, for cooperation, for decisions.
This worked for me because I could work with the elemental understanding of the cards, lean heavily into my intuition, the astrology of the tarot cards (each tarot card is linked with an astrological positioning or season) and collectively that helped me connect with the cards deeply.
So for the Two of Cups, a suit related to love/emotions/relationships, astrologically linked with Venus in Cancer, this card means for me an important romantic partnership, support from another, making beautiful caring decisions together.
We are also very lucky that now we have an age where there are tonnes of beautiful tarot artwork that are different options to the commonly used RWS deck. My current favourite is the Moonchild Tarot, by Danielle Noel and its celestial-ethereal artwork. I love this deck as straight away it was very intuitive and sensitive for me in readings, very personable and it felt so intimate the first time I pulled cards from it. I adore the Strength card in this deck as well as the High Priestess.
When I started my divination business I used the Magical Nordic Tarot deck by Jayne Wallace & Hannah Davies as I find the artwork was easy to enjoy by everyone who had a private reading with me. I recommended it to those who were just starting their own tarot discovery journey too as it has a keyword on each card that prompts your memory/intuition for interpretation. My favourite cards in this deck are The Star and the Death card, but this deck has a gifted extra card from the artist Tracey Emin for “Charity = Generosity.
Don’t get me wrong; tarot can still be a spooky bish. I have a habit of pulling a card every other day. It’s how I taught myself, how I retained the information. Sometimes I’ll pull a card and I have no idea what it means for that day ahead. Then it’ll repeat. And repeat. And I’ll be like “….What the f@¢£?” The last time this happened was the reversed Chariot for me.
Now I usually manage my energy pretty well, and I’ve been feeling pretty determined in my business. I feel happy with my social life and think that I have a great balance with my home life too, so when this reversed card showed up to indicate some form of opposition I didn’t get it. I also don’t drive, so I know that it hasn’t got anything to do with owning a car. Two days later, my bus broke down and I was late for a client zoom call. I didn’t receive any other reversed Chariot card after this event.
You can choose to call that coincidence but I know that it’s synchronicity, and things lining up, with a message I didn’t hear. I should have planned things differently for travel (such as, going out earlier or moving client calls away from timeframes that may be affected).
I hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little bit more about tarot decks and my journey with them so far. What I found really important aside from the foundation and support the cards gave me, was that I connected with the artwork. Please support local indie tarot deck creators wherever you can, as there are some stunning pieces out there.
I have been reading Tarot for more than 15 years. I have always enjoyed using my intuition to provide clarity and insights to others. Tarot is one of my favorite forms of divination, and I love sharing that passion with like-minded folks.
Continue your tarot journey ✨
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